WOODSTOCK -- The last few days have been busy for Shenandoah County emergency personnel on Interstate 81.

Or, as some people may feel, it's been like old times.

Four notable crashes in a 10-mile stretch since Thursday afternoon -- there were two that day, one on Friday and a tractor-trailer overturned Tuesday morning -- may have been the most in such a short period of time since the Virginia Department of Transportation raised the posted speed limit throughout most of the jurisdiction to 70 mph last the fall. Official crash data, though, is not yet available for the past few months, although for all of 2010, there were 29 fewer crashes in the county than a year earlier, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

The DMV does not track road-specific crash data.

However, speed is not necessarily always the culprit. On Friday and Tuesday, for example, it appeared to be driver fatigue, said Sgt. F.L. "Les" Tyler, a state police spokesman. Felton L. Joseph, 59, of Pearland, Texas, was charged with reckless driving on Tuesday after overturning his tractor-trailer hauling tea on the right shoulder at southbound mile marker 284. There were no injuries.

Based on what local officials have observed, after roughly nine months with the new speed limit, nobody appears to have found a reason yet to change their original impression on 70 mph.

"I don't think there is any good evidence that the interstate is more dangerous now than it was before or even that actual speeds have increased at all," said Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Woodstock, who favored the move. "VDOT made the determination about which areas could safely support the speed limit increase, and I think we should wait and see additional data from them before we jump to any conclusions."

Shenandoah County Fire Chief Gary Yew said he has always thought the increase was a mistake. He is concerned about public safety, particularly in peak travel times, such as the current summer vacation period.

"The more serious crashes over the years, they certainly have been attributed to speed," Yew said. "I can't help but think it compounds our problems."

VDOT spokeswoman Sandy Myers said her agency is waiting to collect data for a three-year period before reviewing the effectiveness of the speed limit change. She echoes Gilbert in stating that it's too early to make any conclusions.

The data, when available, may not matter for some people. William Pence, president of Appalachian Freight Carriers in Edinburg, said 65 mph is fast enough for truckers, so the hike to 70 mph did not sit well with him. Drivers in his company, though, are directed to set their speed at 67 mph, which conserves fuel.

"And that's fast enough for trucks," Pence said.

He said too many crashes involve truck drivers speeding and following too closely, and that was before they were granted the opportunity to travel faster.

The Board of Supervisors passed a resolution opposing the increase last year. District 1 representative Dick Neese said his opinion hasn't changed and his concern for I-81 is so great that whenever he must make a Harrisonburg-to-Strasburg trip, he takes U.S. 11.

"I got stopped in [a crash backup] one time," Neese said. "I said there's no way I'm going to let this happen again."

Yeah, Mr. Neese, that’s good. Instead of taking the 70 mph Interstate that’s just as safe as when the speed limit was 65 mph, take the two-lane US 11 for 50 miles, get hung up in all the little one-stoplight towns along the way, take more time getting there, burn more gas, and have a higher chance of getting caught in an accident. Idiot.

I know those stretches of road. I-81 could stand to be widened to six lanes; speed isn’t so much the issue, as is a high amount of traffic, large trucks in particular.

}:-)4

3
posted on 07/20/2011 7:54:16 AM PDT
by Moose4
("By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!")

Shenandoah County Fire Chief Gary Yew said he has always thought the increase was a mistake. He is concerned about public safety, particularly in peak travel times, such as the current summer vacation period.

He can have a governor or speed tracking device on all his personal and work vehicles.

incresing the speed is rarely the problem. most freeways were designed for 50’s era cars to be able to travel that fast.
the problem is people travelling at different speeds. those stupid greenie hybrids are my biggest fear on the highway- they tend to drive well below the speed limit and cause rapid lane changes, other vehicle to slam on their brakes and general traffic backups.

I love the headline = “Was 70 mph a Bad Idea?” The drift of the article seems to be that they don’t know, they don’t have any hard facts, and other factors weigh into serious accidents as much or more than speed. Just another attempt to lower the speed limit, make us put on a sweater, tear the bandage off, and eat our peas.

10
posted on 07/20/2011 8:01:58 AM PDT
by hometoroost
(Per Oceander: The only guarantees in life are death, taxes, and stupidity.)

Very true... a major cause of accidents here in the Hampton Roads area centers around idiots who use their driving time to text, do makeup, yak to their friends, surf the internet, etc. And speed has nothing to do with it.

14
posted on 07/20/2011 8:07:12 AM PDT
by ScottinVA
(As a party that gives Obama what he wants, what again is the GOP`s 2012 selling point?)

The interstate I commute on has the flow of traffic being 80 mph, regardless of the fact that the speed limit is 55.

People tend to travel at what they consider a safe speed, which on a freeway tends to be 80. I would not be traveling faster than 80, even on an unlimited-speed highway, because that's the max safe speed for my car and my reflexes.

Here in Wisconsin the interstate speed limit is 65 mph. When I drive on it, I usually drive around 70 mph. (Yes, that makes me a speeder.) I am constantly passed giving me the feeling that I’m driving about 50 mph. The I-90-94 corridor is packed with cars during the warm months many of them driving five to fifteen mph over the speed limit. If there had been an unusual increase in accidents on it from the speeding cars, we’d have heard about it.

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